Tihei: Unique designs help with positive thoughts

Nevertheless is a non-profit Mental Health & Self Love organisation founded by Shaqaila Uelese (pictured) and Maia Wati-Cooper. Photo / Supplied

Nevertheless is a non-profit Mental Health & Self Love organisation founded and directed by myself and Maia Wati-Cooper. We both hail from Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga and live in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Nevertheless initially started as an apparel small business during the Covid lockdowns in 2021, where we sold T-shirts that had written 'You are loved' on the front.

Since then we've transformed into community outreach programmes, hosting events and running workshops mainly for Māori and Pasifika youth, whānau and communities around mental health.

We are currently self-funded, 100 per cent of our profits go to enabling us to offer free Mental Health workshops in the community and schools.

When you buy from us, you are helping us achieve our vision for Nevertheless. Our Vision, as Nevertheless, is to redefine the way people view and validate themselves. We aim to destigmatise mental health by encouraging self-love as a priority.

The main way we've been accomplishing this is through our unique intentionally reversed designs.

All designs on our clothing are written backwards to encourage the individual to look in the mirror and seek validation from within rather than relying on outside sources such as social media and even friends and family.

We use self-affirmations such as 'You are Loved' and 'You are Enough' to emphasise that everyone's mental health journey looks different.

A major problem we recognised is the stigma around talking about mental health challenges, especially for our Pasifika communities.

We are committed to raising awareness around mental health by collaborating with our Māori, Pasifika and Rainbow communities to create safe spaces for conversations about it.

On Friday, August 19, we will be in Hastings hosting a free Mental Health & Self Love event open to anyone to attend.

We'll be sharing a bit more about what we do as Nevertheless and instigating conversations about not only mental health but our overall holistic hauora.

The event is from 6pm-8pm at Learning Innovations 215 Railway Road Hastings, Ground Floor, Tower Building.

You can learn more about Nevertheless or support our kaupapa by following us on Instagram @nevertheless_nz. www.neverthelessnz.com